The West Fork softball team in first ever state tournament game was limited to two hits and Van Meter with consistent traffic on bases pulled away for a 10-0 win in six innings in a Class 2A quarterfinal on Tuesday, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ.
Van Meter led 1-0 after the first.The Bulldogs plated three runs in the 2nd by playing small ball with a pair of bunts and a single to pull ahead 4-0. Van Meter added some more insurance in the 3rd as four runs made it home. The Warhawks had their best scoring chance of the afternoon in the 6th with two runners on via a Brylee Dickman single and a Breckyn Dickman walk. The Bulldogs defense denied the scoring chance and stranded a Warhawk runner at third base. Van Meter added single tallies in the 5th and 6th to end the game early.
Head Coach Sadie Winfrey says the team plans to work on maintaining energy and confidence and prepare for the next game.
“Obviously a very good team, we knew that going in and we kind of lost a little bit of our confidence as we started to come down a little bit,” says Winfrey. “I told them that’s something that we have to keep, the energy and the confidence. Enjoy yourself the rest of the day and make sure we make those adjustments tomorrow. We’ll watch a little bit and get ourselves prepared.”
West Fork moves to 18-8 and will face #5 Lisbon in a consolation game on Wednesday.
Lisbon (27-13) is led by Kyla Kahl in the circle with a 3.13 ERA and 136 strikeouts entering state.
A key piece in getting the bats going for the Warhawks against the Lions is junior Joanna Wallace who is batting .377 with 31 runs scored. Wallace says she enjoys sparking rallies leading off the heart of the batting order.
“It makes me feel good that I’m part of the start of the rally and the rest of my team can feed off of what I’m doing,” says Wallace. “I like that they can always feel when I go up there that I usually do something good in the batter’s box. Then it’ll just keep going after me.”
Ahead of her final game as a Warhawk senior Breckyn Dickman notes the impact of team huddles and taking the field with family.
“I think our circle before the game, to try to get everyone’s energy up really helps, If we need a reset during the game, then we reset,” says Dickman. “I think getting to play with my sister and cousin is pretty cool, and also getting to play with people I’ve played with since I was very little.”
The game will air on 104.9 KLMJ with pregame coverage at 10:00 a.m. followed by the first pitch at 10:30 a.m. at Harlan Rogers Sports Complex in Fort Dodge.
